Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we were warned of the sin of arrogance that makes itself known when we plan out our lives based on our own desires and expectations rather than on the will and providence of God. In our time together we read aloud a prayer that would be well worth our while to continue repeating to ourselves day by day as we seek to continually ground the patterns of our lives in the will of God.

Lord, show me how to hold and pursue the plans in my life in a way that honors you.

Members Meeting

The heavy storms this past Sunday meant that many of our members would not have been able to attend our plan members’ meeting. To make the meeting more accessible, the meeting has moved to this upcoming Sunday, October 19th, immediately after the service.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we were warned once again about the dangers of our speech, especially judgmental speech. James’ point is not that we should never correct a brother or sister who is straying from obedience to God. Rather, he is saying that we often judge others on the basis of our own opinions rather than on the proper authority of God’s word and in the spirit of the love of Christ. When we do this we speak evil both of a fellow saint and of scripture. While it’s far from the only step we need to take to grow in this regard, one of the key things we need to do in light of this passage is to make sure we know God’s word well so that we know when correction is not necessary and that we are able to speak on good authority when it is necessary.

Members’ Meeting

Our next member’s meeting will be at 2 p.m. this upcoming Sunday, October 12th. If you are a member of Light in the Desert, please be sure to set aside that day on your calendar to participate in this vital piece of church life. What’s more, we encourage you to use the window of time before the meeting to go have lunch with other members of our church family.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday we we looked at James 4:1-10, though perhaps is might be more accurate to say that the passage took a good long look at us as it bluntly identified many of the evils of our human hearts. The passage, and by extension the sermon, had a lot to say so I highly recommend you go listen here. For now, I just want to encourage you to think about what it means that “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God.” It would be valuable for all of us to take time this week to consider the ways in which we have taken up the things of this world, perhaps even unwittingly, and how that has affected our relationship with our creator. And let us respond in repentance of our worldliness and in adoration of God who has taken us from being his enemies to being his friends.

Life Groups

We recently kicked off life groups, our effort to meet in each other’s homes to live life together and read God’s word deeply together. Our plan of meeting on the first and third Sundays of every month means that our second meeting will be this upcoming Sunday evening. If you didn’t make it to the first meeting but would like to join, please reach out to me if you have any questions about where to meet or even just about what life groups are like. Aside from catching me at church, the easiest way to get ahold of me is to email me at logan@lightinthedesert.church.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we were told in no uncertain terms about the danger of reckless speech. Sinful words are such a pervasive issue that James says anyone who does not fall short in this regard must be entirely perfect, which of course nobody is. And the consequences of sinful speech are dire. Relationships can be destroyed. Disciples can be misled. Lies we repeat can become the guiding principles of our hearts. Church, let us refuse to be careless with our words. Rather let us be measured and wise with our speech, following the example of Christ our savior.

The Sunday Bulletin

I wanted to take a quick moment here in the blog to draw your attention to our weekly bulletin available in the foyer every Sunday and the various resources the bulletin provides. Along the left side of the back of the bulletin you’ll find a list of upcoming events. The bottom left corner provides information on how to access online giving as well as our social media pages and news blog (though I suppose you already know where that is if you’re reading this. The bulk of the right side is left open for you to take notes on the sermon. That’s right, you don’t have to bring anything from home to take notes on a Sunday; we always have pens and paper ready for you. While it may be easy to overlook, perhaps the most important part of the bulletin is the bottom right corner where you’ll find the passage for the following Sunday’s sermon. We strongly encourage you to be reading that passage ahead of time to come into Sunday already primed to receive God’s word.

Life Groups

The much anticipated start of life groups is just around the corner on September 21st. As a reminder, we are asking that those south of the 60 go to our south group hosted by Alex and Cassandra, and those north of the 60 go to our north group hosted by Kyle. Both groups will be meeting at 4 p.m. and will be bring-your-own-dinner. If you signed up on the life group interest sheet that was in the foyer earlier this summer, you should have received an email last week with additional information, so be sure to check your inbox. If you had not signed up but would like more information then feel free to send me an email at logan@lightinthedesert.church.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday we looked at a famously difficult passage of James in which we are told that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. As a church that confesses that salvation is through faith alone, this phrase may be upsetting to us if we take it on its own without considering the full idea James is intending to convey. But what’s really being said here is that a living faith always bears itself out in good works. If we trust that we are heirs to the riches of God in the coming kingdom, then we will be generous with what we have here and now. If we trust that we have been received by God with open arms, then we will boldly share the Gospel now even at the risk of rejection. Let us be assured that it is not our good works that allow God to be merciful to us, rather it is God’s mercy that empowers and even compels us to do good works.

Life Groups

The much anticipated start of life groups is just around the corner on September 21st. As a reminder, we are asking that those south of the 60 go to our south group hosted by Alex and Cassandra, and those north of the 60 go to our north group hosted by Kyle. Both groups will be meeting at 4 p.m. and will be bring-your-own-dinner. If you signed up on the life group interest sheet that was in the foyer earlier this summer, keep an eye out for an email in the next few days with more details about life group. If you had not signed up but would like more information then feel free to send me an email at logan@lightinthedesert.church.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we worked through a passage that wasn’t just sharp like a knife but also precise like a scalpel as James begins to address the particular sins that arise in the life of believers. In this case, he speaks to the sin of partiality, our tendency to favor those who have the resources to benefit us. And while James is being particular in this passage, he is not just nit-picking. He’s so careful to address even the subtlest of sins because any sin at all is a transgression of the whole law of God. Church, let us respond to this passage by being careful not to excuse any of our sins, rather let us be ever repentant and all the more glad for the grace of God which saves us in spite of our selves.

Life Groups

Life groups will be officially starting back up on Sunday, September 21st. Alex and Cassandra Gerhard will be hosting one group for those south of Baseline, while Kyle Villa will be hosting another for those north of Baseline. At least for this first meeting, both groups will start at 4:00 p.m. and will be bring your own dinner. If you have any questions about life groups generally or about either life group in particular, feel free to reach out to myself or the respective life group host.

Wednesday Activities

With summer coming to a close, our Wednesday activities will start back up on September 10th. This includes a women’s study on Revelation in the morning, as well as both men’s and women’s studies on Revelation and the first semester of our Disciple Makers class in the evening.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we found ourselves in verses 19-27 of chapter 1. One of the nice things about the book of James is that most passages are straight-forward and easily understood, but the real difficulty is responding humbly to the strong words of conviction. It would serve us well this week to look back on these verses and respond by praying that God would soften our hearts to the call to righteousness that we will see repeatedly over the next several weeks.

Life Groups

Life groups will be officially starting back up on Sunday, September 21st. Alex and Cassandra Gerhard will be hosting one group for those south of Baseline, while Kyle Villa will be hosting another for those north of Baseline. At least for this first meeting, both groups will start at 4:00 p.m. and will be bring your own dinner. If you have any questions about life groups generally or about either life group in particular, feel free to reach out to myself or the respective life group host.

Sunday Studies

This upcoming Sunday we will start a new series in our 9:00 a.m. class called Sanctification – A Theology Of Change. In light of the call from the book of James to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only,” we’ll spend a few weeks investigating what it means and what it takes to flee sin and cling to righteousness.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we were met with both encouragement and conviction. We read that those who endure trials will be blessed with life in Christ. But we also read that enduring trials is not easy and that when we fail we have only ourselves to blame. When we face difficulty we are tempted by our own selfish desires, and temptation turns to sin when we do not fight against it. But God in His goodness grants His strength to His people that in Him we may fight temptation and endure. In this we can see even now the beauty of the righteousness in which we will live in the coming kingdom.

Sunday Studies

This upcoming Sunday we will have special one-off Sunday studies on evangelism in an educational context.  Our aim is to equip our college students as they start a new semester, but this class will also be valuable to younger students, parents of students, and even grandparents of students. The following Sunday we will start a new series called Sanctification – A Theology Of Change. In light of the emphasis on good works we’re finding in James during our main service, we’ll spend a few weeks investigating what it means and what it takes to flee sin and cling to righteousness.

Wednesday Activities

With summer coming to a close, our Wednesday activities will start back up on September 10th. This includes a women’s study on Revelation in the morning, as well as both men’s and women’s studies on Revelation and the first semester of our Disciple Makers class in the evening.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy

Pastoral Intern

Church Family,

This past Sunday, as we continued our series in James, we were met with a sort of grounding exercise for the believer. James tells his poor readers to boast in their exaltation in his rich readers to boast in their humiliation, which may sound like nonsense to our worldly ears. But that is because this boasting is not worldly at all. This boasting is grounded in the true identity of believers, which has nothing to do with worldly riches or power or influence, and instead has everything to do with being in Christ. The poor believer has nothing, but has everything in Christ. The rich believer may seem to have it all, but that wealth is nothing in comparison to the worth of being in Christ. In this alone both rich and poor can boast.

Special Sunday Studies

On August 24th we will take a break between our usual Sunday Studies series to do a special session on evangelism in an educational context. Our aim is to equip our college students as they start a new semester, but this class will also be valuable to younger students, parents of students, and even grandparents of students.

Christian Challenge Lunch

Also on the 24th we will be having a lunch after service to welcome students to our Christian Challenge ministry on the ASU Polytech campus. Anyone interested in spending time with our college students and enjoying some free pizza is welcome to join.

Grace be with you,

Logan Murphy,

Pastoral Intern